Folding card holder with clock

ABSTRACT

A card holder includes a first or front section having a front section wall, a front radius section joining the front section wall to a front top lip, and a compartment attached to the front section wall. The compartment may be sized and shaped to hold standard business cards (which are typically about 3½ inches long and 2 inches high). A second or back section is pivotally attached to the front section by a hinge joint. The back section has a back section wall and a back radius section joining the back section wall to a back top lip. A display, such as an electronic display of a clock or other device, may be positioned on the back section wall. The front and back sections may be folded together to provide a more compact card holder, especially for packaging, shipping or storage.

BACKGROUND

Business cards are used everywhere in modern day life. While universally used in commerce, they are also widely used in government, education, non-profit, and various other types of organizations. During most introductions in a business setting, business cards are exchanged. In an office setting, business cards are often presented or displayed in a card holder placed on a desk, table or counter top surface. Some of these types of card holders have also been designed to hold various office accessories, such as pens, pencils, memo pads, paper clips, etc. In general, these card holders are integral single piece units manufactured from metal, wood, glass or plastic, and have no moving parts. Packaging these card holders for shipping and/or storage must accommodate the inherent size of the card holder. This results in added costs and consumption of packaging materials and shipping or storage space.

In many offices, desk top space rapidly becomes cluttered with office accessories, in addition to the usual papers and files. Consequently, there is often little if any space available for useful accessories such as a clock, thermometer, calculator, etc. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a card holder having such an accessory or electronic device.

SUMMARY

This summary is included to provide a brief overview of the invention. However, the features and advantages described here are not requirements or limitations on the invention, and should not be taken as such. Rather, the limitations of the invention are set forth in the claims.

In a first aspect, a new card holder includes a first or front section and has a substantially flat front section wall, a front radius section joining the front section wall to a front top lip, and a compartment attached to the front section wall. The compartment may be sized and shaped to hold standard business cards (which are typically about 3½ inches long and 2 inches high). A second or back section is pivotally attached to the front section by a hinge joint. The back section has a substantially flat back section wall and a back radius section joining the back section wall to a back top lip. A display, such as an electronic display of a clock or other device, may be positioned on the back section wall.

In a second aspect, the compartment of the card holder has a compartment front wall adjoining a substantially flat bottom wall and first and second parallel side walls. A top edge of the compartment front wall may align vertically with a break line where a compartment back wall joins the front section wall.

In a third aspect, the front section is pivotable about the hinge joint relative to the back section from an open position, wherein the front section wall and the back section wall form an acute angle, to a closed position, wherein the front section wall and the back section wall are substantially parallel to each other.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following detailed description, wherein a single embodiment is disclosed and described. It should be understood, however, that the following detailed description and drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front, top and right side perspective view of a new card holder shown in an open or un-folded position, on a desk top or other surface.

FIG. 2 is a front, top and right side perspective view of the card holder of FIG. 1, this time shown in a closed or folded position.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the card holder shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a back view.

FIG. 5 is a left side view.

FIG. 6 is a right side view.

FIG. 7 is a top view.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view.

FIGS. 1 and 3-8 show the card holder in the open or un-folded position and FIG. 2 shows the card holder in the closed or folded position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As used here, substantially parallel means extending in a direction that is parallel or within 10 degrees or less of parallel. Substantially coplanar means in the same plane, or in planes offset by 3-5 mm or less. Joining or adjoining means attached to or integrally formed with. Substantially flat means having no curvature or non-planar irregularities when viewed by a casual observer. Surfaces and walls described in the claims may have visible curvature or irregularities, unless they are also described as substantially flat.

Turning now to the drawings, as shown in FIG. 1, a card holder 20 has a front or first section 22 attached to a back or second section 24 by a hinge joint 26. Referring now also to FIG. 6, the front section has a top lip 44 attached at an angle RR to a front section front section wall 40. The top lip 44 and the front wall may both be substantially flat and joined to each other through a front radius 42. As shown in FIG. 1, a compartment 28 on the front section 22 includes a front compartment wall 32, a bottom wall 30, sidewalls 34, and a compartment back wall 38. The compartment back wall 38 may be an extension of, or coplanar with the front section wall 40. Alternatively, the compartment back wall 38 may join the front section wall 40 at an angle KK of 15, 10 or 5 degrees, or less, as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows a design with the compartment back wall 38 and the front section wall 40 forming an angle of about 10 degrees, with the angle KK defining a break line 36 as shown in FIG. 1.

Turning to FIGS. 1 and 8, the hinge joint 26 may be formed by a hinge pin within hinge sections, at the sides of the card holder 20 as shown, or by a hinge extending substantially entirely across the entire width of the card holder. Alternatively, the hinge joint 26 may be formed by a separate or integral thin flexible section of material attached to, or formed as part of, the front and back sections 22 and 24.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the back section 24 has a back section top lip 48 joined to a back section wall 46 at an angle TT. Angles TT and RR are both preferably less than 90 degrees and may generally be about 60-80 degrees. The top lip 48 and the back wall 46 may both be substantially flat and joined to each other through a front radius 50. As shown in FIG. 5, the lower edge 52 of the back wall 46 is angled so that it rests generally flat or flush on the desk or other supporting surface, when the card holder 20 is in the un-folded position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3-8.

Turning to FIGS. 5 and 6, the front compartment wall 32 has a height HH of about 20-40 mm and may be at the height as the break line 36 (if any) where the back compartment wall 38 joins the front section wall 40. The interior width WW of the compartment 28 is about 10-25 mm. The width TL of the lips 44 and 48, excluding the radii 42 and 50 (if any), is about 5-25 or 8-15 mm. The height JJ of the card holder 20 is about 50-90 or 60-80 mm. The depth PP of the unfolded card holder 20 as shown in FIG. 6 is about 60-120, 70-110, or 80-100 mm. The front compartment wall 32 may be vertical, or extend outwardly at an angle MM of about 5-20 degrees.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8, a device 60 such as a digital electronic clock 60 is provided on the back section wall 46. The device 60 may have a housing 66 extending through an opening in the back section wall 46, or attached to the back side of the wall 46. The housing, if used, typically contains circuitry and a battery for operating the device As shown in FIG. 4, a display 62 is visible on the back section wall 46. Control switches 64 may also be included.

As shown in FIG. 2, the card holder 20 may be folded into a more compact size for packaging and/or storage. By folding the back section 24 towards the front section 22, via nominal hand force, the card holder is moved from the open position shown in FIG. 1 to the folded position shown in FIG. 2. Referring to the dotted lines in FIG. 5, when folded, the back section wall 46 is moved into a position where it is substantially parallel to the front section wall 40. The back side of the device housing 66 may also contact the back side of the compartment back wall 38, limiting further inward folding movement.

In FIG. 1, a sample business card 25 is shown in dotted lines. The number of cards that the card holder may hold will vary with the selection of the dimension WW shown in FIG. 5.

Thus, a novel combination portable electronic device and storage compartment have been shown and described. Various changes and substitutions may of course be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited, except by the following claims and their equivalents. 

1. A card holder, comprising: a front section having a front section wall, a front radius section joining the front section wall to a front top lip, and a compartment attached to the front section wall; a back section attached to the front section by a hinge joint, with the back section having a back section wall and a back radius section joining the back section wall to the back top lip, and an electronic display on the back section wall.
 2. The card holder of claim 1 wherein the front and back section walls are substantially flat and the compartment attached to the front section wall at a break line.
 3. The card holder of claim 2 with the compartment comprising a compartment front wall adjoining a substantially flat bottom wall and first and second side walls.
 4. The card holder of claim 3 with a top edge of the compartment front wall and the break line at substantially the same vertical distance from the bottom wall.
 5. The card holder of claim 1 with the front section pivotable about the hinge joint relative to the back section from an open position, wherein the front section wall and the back section wall form an acute angle, to a closed position, wherein the front section wall and the back section wall are substantially parallel to each other.
 6. The card holder of claim 1 with the electronic display adapted to display a plurality of alphanumeric characters, and further comprising electronic circuitry linked to the electronic display and contained within a housing attached to a back surface of the back section wall.
 7. The card holder of claim 1 with the compartment having a compartment back wall adjoining the front section wall at an angle ranging from about 0-20 degrees.
 8. The card holder of claim 5 where the front lip is substantially coplanar with the back lip when the card holder is in the open position.
 9. The card holder of claim 1 with the display further comprising a digital clock including two or more control switches on the back section wall.
 10. The card holder of claim 5 with the front panel wall forming an angle of about 20 to 45 degrees to the back wall when card holder is in the open position.
 11. A business card holder and clock combination comprising: a first section having a first section wall and an a first lip attached to the first section wall at a first angle; a second section having a second section wall and a second lip attached to the second section wall at a second angle; a hinge attached to the first lip and to the second lip; a five sided card compartment joined to the first section wall, with the compartment having a substantially flat bottom wall; a clock on the second section wall; with the first section pivotable about the hinge relative to the second section, from an open position, wherein the first section wall and the second section wall form a first angle, to a folded position, wherein the front section wall and the back section wall form a second angle less than the first angle.
 12. The card holder of claim 11 with the compartment attached to the first section wall at angle ranging from 0 to 15 degrees.
 13. The card holder of claim 11 with the first lip substantially parallel to the second lip when the card holder is in the open position.
 14. The card holder of claim 13 with the first lip parallel to the bottom wall when the card holder is in the open position.
 15. A business card holder and electronic display device combination, comprising: a first section having a substantially flat first flat section wall and an a first substantially flat lip attached to the first section wall at a first angle greater than 90 degrees; a second section having a second substantially flat section wall and a second substantially flat lip attached to the second section wall at a second angle greater than 90 degrees; a hinge attached to the first lip and to the second lips with the hinge positioned below the first and second lips; a five sided card compartment joined to the first section wall, with the compartment having a substantially flat bottom wall and a compartment back wall joining the first section wall at an angle of 0-20 degrees; an electronic display device on the second section wall, with the electronic display device having a housing extending through an opening in the first section wall; and with the first section pivotable about the hinge relative to the second section, from an open position, wherein the first section wall and the second section wall form a first angle, to a folded position, wherein the front section wall and the back section wall form a second angle less than the first angle, and with the bottom wall substantially parallel to at least one of the first and second lips, when the card holder is in the open position. 